Finger ring having an adjustable ring guard



Sept. 29, 1964 c. A. OLSON FINGER RING mvmc AN ADJUSTABLE RING GUARDFiled July 6. 1962 Carl A. Olson 1N VEN TOR. m3 M MW BY QM United StatesPatent 3,150,505 FINGER RING HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE RING GUARD Carl A.Olson, 545 N. Main St., Las Cruces, N. Mex. Filed July 6, 1962, Ser. No.207,921 4 Claims. (Cl. 63-15.6)

The present invention generally relates to rings and more particularlyto a novel ring. guard means capable of being incorporated into mostpresent-day rings.

One of the major problems involved in the fitting of rings resides inthe fact that the ring of necessity must be made so as to fit over theknuckle of the ring wearer. However, inasmuch as the knuckle is in manyinstances quite a bit larger than the remainder of the finger, a ring ofa size to fit thereover will be too large for the portion of the fingerpast the knuckle, thus tending to result in an undesirable twisting orturning of the ring on the finger. This problem of enlarged knuckles isquite prevalent among older people and those afilicted with variousailments, such as arthritis. Accordingly, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a ring guard which is capable of beingadjustably engaged with the finger once the ring is positioned past theknuckle thereby allowing the wearer of the ring to easily insert hisfinger therein and at the same time obtaining a tight fit avoiding anyundesirable turning or twisting of the ring.

While it is appreciated that various types of ring guards forsubstantially the same purpose have been invented, it will beappreciated that most of the previously known ring guards require adrastic modification of the basic ring, or else are positioned on thering somewhat in the manner of a temporary repair being both easily seenand quite troublesome both because of their tendency to catch onclothing and because of the manner in which such temporary guards tendto become completely disengaged from the ring itself.

As such, another significant object of the present in vention resides inthe provision of a ring guard which can be permanently secured to mostif not all of the conventional types of rings, requiring only a minimumamount of modification.

In line with the above object, another object of the present inventionresides in the provision of a ring guard which can be particularlyuseful in various types of womens engagement rings because of the mannerin which the ring guard is located so as to not interfere with theinterlocking of the engagement and wedding rings such as is now commonlydone.

Further, an object of the present invention resides in the provision ofa ring guard which can be applied to a ring in a manner so as to bepractically indistinguishable from the ring body.

Also, an object of the present invention resides in the provision of aring guard which can be adjusted so as to vary the ring size toaccommodate a substantial range of diiferent sized fingers.

Likewise, an object of the present invention is the provision of a ringguard which is simple in construction, easy to adjust and capable ofbeing incorporated permanently into a ring at a minimum cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming'a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which: FIGURE 1illustrates an elevational view of a ring having the ring guard ofthepresent'invention incorporated therein; I

FIGURE 2. is an enlarged cross sectional view taken Patented Sept. 29,1964 ice substantially on a plane passing along line 2-2 in FIG- URE land illustrating the ring guard in both its contracted and expandedposition; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view taken substantiallyon a plane passing along line 33 in FIGURE 2 and illustrating the mannerin which the eccentric wheel is used to contract the ring guard.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 10generally designates a ring having a setting 12 at the upper end thereofand being provided with a centrally located recess 14 beneath thesetting 12. This recessed portion 14, as will be readily appreciated,need only be of a size so as to accommodate the eccentric wheel 16, thusenabling the use of any of a wide range of various types of settings,the only limitation residing in the provision of the relatively smallrecess 14 therebeneath.

As will best be seen in FIGURE 2, the eccentric wheel 16 is fixedlymounted on a journal 18 which is rotatably received within a blind bore20 which extends transversely from one outer side 22 of the ring 10through the recess 14. The journal 18 at its outer portion is providedwith a slotted end 24 so as to enable its rotation and consequently therotation of the eccentric wheel 16 by means of a small screwdriver.While this slotted end 24 of the journal 18 has been illustrated asextending slightly beyond the side 22 of the ring 10, it will beappreciated that such can be provided flush with the side 22 if sodesired for matters of appearance or convenience.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, it is contemplated that the eccentric wheel 16be provided with a plurality of planes 26, denoted by the numbers 1, 2,3 and 4, each plane 26 being spaced radially outward from the center ofrotation a greater distance than the previous plane. However, while foursuch planes 26 have been illustrated, it will be readily apparent thatany number of such planes can be provided. Further, while it ispreferred that each such plane or land 26 be spaced so as to vary theeffective inner periphery of the ring the equivalent of a half ringsize, in a manner which shall be described presently, any variationthereof can be provided within the scope of the present invention.

Upon rotation of the eccentric wheel 16 by means of the turning of thejournal 18 to which it is rigidly afi'ixed such as by the setscrew 28, aplunger 30, extending upwardly into the recess 14, is forced downwardlythus causing a downward movement of the thin resilient metallic strip orband 32 to which it is rigidly affixed in a conventional manner such asby welding.

The flexible strip 32 is substantially semi-circular in configurationand is provided at each end 34 thereof with two outwardly extending tabs36 being of a size only suflicient so as to engage about the inner halfof the ring 10, this being sufiicient so as to prevent the accidentalremoval of the strip 32 while at the same time allowing for a slightdownward movement thereof substantially in the manner illustrated inFIGURE 2 in response to a downward forcing of the plunger 30 by means ofthe eccentric wheel 16 thereby resulting in a reduction of the fingerreceiving aperture. Because of the flexible nature of the strip 32, itwill be apparent that in addition to a downward sliding of the ends 34,the central portion 33, substantially in line with the plunger 30, Willbend slightly inwardly as illustrated in FIGURE 3, thus furtherincreasing the holding power of a ring guard.

From the foregoing, the present invention and the manner in which itworks is considered to be readily apparjustment is carried out by meansof: an eccentric wheel positioned within a recess provided generallybeneath the setting and rotatable by means of a journal extendingtherefrom to one side of the ring. Upontrotation. of the eccentric, aplunger in contact therewith is forced downwardly thus causing thecontraction of a resilient hand slidably secured within the upper halfof the inner periphery of the ring, the contracted andtexpandedpositions of the metal stripbeing illustrated in full and phantom linesin FIGURES 2 and 3. A further significant feature-residing in the use ofan eccentric wheel to maintain the resilient strip in contractedposition resides in the fact that the ends. of the stripneed only beslidably engaged about the inner portion of. the ring thus provicling anentirely projection free outer surface to the ring contrary to themanner in which many conventionalv flexible strip ring guards requirethe complete encompassing of the ring portion so as to maintain them inthe desired position. As pointed out supra, the specific ring guard setforth in detail. herein is capable of being incorporated in aperrnanentmanner on most conventional rings, the only prerequisite being theavailability of sufficient area so as to enable the provision of arelatively small recess for the reception of the eccentric wheeltherein. in a manner so as to enable the, juxtapositioning of theflexible strip with the inner surface of the ring when the strip is inits normally relaxed position such as would be required during theputting on of the ring.

A final significant feature to be specifically pointed out resides inthe provision of an eccentric wheel having a plurality of differentplanes thereon so as to enable the varying of the size of the ring overa substantial number of different sizes.

The foregoing. is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to thoseskilled in the art, it is not desired'to limit theinvention to the exact construction and: operation shown and de- 4scribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equiyalentsmaybe restored. to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a finger ring having an inner periphery, a recessopening through said inner periphery, an arcuate resilient strip, meansmounting said strip within the inner periphery of said ring in spanningrelation to the open end of said recess, a plunger fixedly secured tosaid strip and extending slidably into said recess, and means forselectively varying the projection of the plunger into the recess v andthe position of the arcuate strip relative to the ring inner periphery,said means including a wheel rotatably mounted-within said recess-andhaving a peripheral surface eccentric relative to the axis of rotationand. in. engagement with the inner end of said plunger, and means.accessible from the exterior of said ring for rotating said wheel.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means includesa journal rotatably mounted on said ring and extending transverselythrough said recess, said wheel being fixed to said journal for rotationtherewith.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said wheel is provided with aplurality of consecutively offset lands.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidwheel is provided withaplurality of consecutively offset lands.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS304,579 Sussman Sept. 2, 1884 512,839 Openheimer Ian. 16, 1894 1,075,673Segman Oct. 14, 1913 1,851,213 Rosset Mar. 29, 1932 2,162,849 LandisJune 20, 1939

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A FINGER RING HAVING AN INNER PERIPHERY, A RECESSOPENING THROUGH SAID INNER PERIPHERY, AN ARCUATE RESILIENT STRIP, MEANSMOUNTING SAID STRIP WITHIN THE INNER PERPHERY OF SAID RING IN SPANNINGRELATION TO THE OPEN END OF SAID RECESS, A PLUNGER FIXEDLY SECURED TOSAID STRIP AND EXTENDING SLIDABLY INTO SAID RECESS, AND MEANS FORSELECTIVELY VARYING THE PROJECTION OF THE PLUNGER INTO THE RECESS ANDTHE POSITION OF THE ARCUATE STRIP RELATIVE TO THE RING INNER PERIPHERY,SAID MEANS INCLUDING A WHEEL ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECESS ANDHAVING A PERIPHERAL SURFACE ECCENTRIC RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF ROTATIONAND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INNER END OF SAID PLUNGER, AND MEANSACCESSIBLE FROM THE EXTERIOR OF SAID RING FOR ROTATING SAID WHEEL.